Hillary coy on 2008 run

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Former American president Bill Clinton has a message for
Democrats inconsolable after President George Bush's re-election:
Buck up. It's not that bad. You need to improve your image.

"This election presents a great opportunity for President Bush
and a great opportunity for Democrats, and the two are not
necessarily in conflict," Mr Clinton said in his first public
remarks since Senator John Kerry's defeat on Tuesday.

As Mr Clinton spoke, his wife Hillary, a US senator from New
York, continued to duck questions about whether she might run in
the next election as the Democratic candidate.

Mr Clinton said the Democrats needed to rework their image and
it would be "a mistake for our party to sit around and . . . whine
about this and that or the other thing".

Just weeks after major heart surgery, Mr Clinton joined Mr Kerry
at a late campaign appearance in Philadelphia and made appearances
in several states including Florida, New Mexico and Arkansas.

In his speech to the Urban Land Institute, Mr Clinton attributed
Mr Kerry's loss to the Democrats' failure to counter how
Republicans portrayed them to rural and small-town voters.

"If we let people believe that our party doesn't believe in
faith and family, that's our fault," he said.

Mr Clinton gave Mr Bush and the Republicans credit for the
election victory.

"The Republicans had a clear message, a good messenger, a great
organisation and a great strategy," he said. "They did a better job
of turning out those who were already registered who hadn't
voted."

He said Mr Bush should use his second four years to move the US
towards an economy less dependent on foreign oil, a move that would
shift the balance of power in the Middle East.

He also said a peace agreement between the Israelis and the
Palestinians would take enormous steam out of Islamic
fundamentalist terrorism worldwide.

Meanwhile, Mr Bush on Friday completed his re-election triumph
by winning the final undeclared state and starting the job of
choosing key members of his new administration.

The final state result to be announced was Iowa, where Mr Bush
narrowly beat Mr Kerry.

While Mr Kerry has disappeared from public view since his
concession speech on Wednesday, Mr Bush has exalted in his
victory.

"I earned capital in the campaign, political capital, and now I
intend to spend it," Mr Bush said on Friday before withdrawing to
the Camp David presidential retreat in Maryland where he is to
start choosing members of his new cabinet.

Mr Bush is expected to maintain the style of his first cabinet,
mixing an easygoing image with an ability to play rival members
against each other.